Putting HumptyDumpty Back Together Again
by Gilmorecrazy04
Summary: This is my version on how to fix what ASP broke in the season finaleLuke and Lorelai. JavaJunkie because that's what we all need. Please read and review. PostPartings
1. The Morning After

A/N: Okay, so I've been bad and been ignoring The Nature of Our Reality but i really really do promise i'm going to update and soon most likely. To be honest I'm not really sure if anyone is even really reading it, but I'm going to update it anyway since it is the story I've most wanted to write. However, that being said, I am now starting a new mulitiple chapter story. Why? Because how could I not after a season finale like partings? Someone needs to give the fellow javajunkies hope, and if ASP is not going to, well, I will try to put the peices back together again! 

Lorelai woke with a pit of sadness in her stomach. It was the kind you had after you knew you had made the biggest mistake of your life, but you couldn't quite remember what you had done. But she knew she had done something, and it was bad. It did not take her long to recall exactly what it was either. Gigi came running into the room and Lorelai remembered everything clearly. How could she have done that? Sure she was pissed at Luke. And rightly so. But Chris, in all the time she had known him, had never made a situation better. And this time was no different. The pit in her stomach just continued to grow upon rememberence of her enormous mistake. That's all this was. She wasn't in love with Christopher. Like she told the psychologist the night before, Luke was the only man she had ever really loved. Really loves. Present tense. And if Luke hadn't ruined it before. Lorelai certatintly had now. Luke trusted her around Christopher. Or at least he had pretened to, for Rory's sake. Lorelai had ruined all remote chances that she could have a life with Luke that involved a normal relationship with Christopher on the side. Luke would never trust Christopher again. He would never even trust her again. The irony made Lorelai sick. She had finally found the man of her dreams, and did the one thing he wouldn't forgive her for. She had lost him for good, but she was sitting here thinking about how he wouldn't trust her again. As if she had a chance. Rory was right once again, when wasn't Rory right? Letting Chris back into her life was a mistake. When upset, Lorelai wasn't strong enough to stay away. Why couldn't she have stayed with Rory last night? Sookie? Anyone that didn't have the male anatomy. Lorelai was not patient, anyone who even remotely knew her, knew that. But sleeping with Christopher didn't solve anything. The pain was still there, and Luke still wasn't. Only now Christopher was, and she didn't know how to deal with that.  
Chris came back to bed and casually swung his arm over Lorelai. It made her feel like she needed to puke. How could a gesture that made her swoon when done by Luke, make her feel the need to sprint to the bathroom when done by Christopher. She asked herself, but she already knew the answer. She loved Luke. She wondered if Chris knew that. He must know that, she didn't become untorn over just any man. Well that might not be entirely true, but not this unraveled. Normally she could at least pretend everything was fine. But this time, she wasn't even up to pretending. And she wasn't in the mood for watching out for others feelings either. She carefully unwrapped herself from Chris' blankets and got dressed.  
"Lorelai, What are you doing"  
"I'm leaving. I should have never come. I can't do this Chris. Can't. That's just it"  
"I thought it was for real this time"  
"Chris, Are we still in junior high? There is no for real this time. It's all real. It's all life. But that just shows how naive you are. I'm in love with Luke, I've been in love with Luke. I have a wedding dress hanging in my closet at home. I try it on regularly. I'm not going to be ready to fall in love again for a long long time. If ever. And it wont be with you. That ship has sailed. And a few times too many. I don't mean to be harsh. But that's life-and there is no more use pretending it's any different. This was a mistake. I'm more emotional than I've ever been, so I got in bed. Apparentally, I still think i'm in high school too"  
And with that Lorelai walked out of Chris' appartment. She didn't know it then, but it was the last time she ever would. And if she did know it, she would have been thankful. Because if things were still a mess with Luke, at least things were cleaned up with Christopher.

A/N: Sorry This chapter is kind of short, but I just wanted to get the begining set up. I have an awful lot of glueing to do in upcoming chapters, if you catch my drift. I am discusted by the current state of the Gilmore's affairs and I intend to at least fix them in my own happy-little-fanfiction-reality. Sorry to any Lorelai/Chris shippers if this chapter was a little harsh to Chris. That's just the way it is in my javajunkie world. But, at times I do actually like Chris, just not with Lorelai. Thanks for reading, click the pretty little review button please. I'll be forever grateful.


	2. The Morning After Part 2

**A/N: Okay so you guys are really special since i'm updating the very next day! Thanks for all the great reviews so far, it's very much appreciated. Keep it up, because reviews are a girls bestfriend. Or mine at the very least. I should have tied this chapter in with Chapter 1 I realized after I wrote it, so consider it a part 2.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Gilmore Girls do you really think Lorelai would've ended up in bed with Chris again?**

A little ways down the road Luke Danes was waking with the same pit of anger, regret, and sadness in the pit of his stomach. The alarm going off in his room this morning didn't annoy him today. The shrill constant beeping that usually gave him the desire to punch something, just seemed fitting. He deserved it. His life seemed to be a time bomb. Or at the very least a good example of equal and opposite reactions. Everytime Luke had something good in life, it was taken away; his parents, RAchel, his baseball dreams, and now Lorelai. Luke's whole life had been filled with despair since he had lost his mother. Luke didn't find happiness very often in life and when he did he was hesitant about it. Luke didn't very much like being around happiness either; town meetings, townspeople, town festivals, and all the other 'to kill a mockingbird' things about Stars Hollow, as Jess refered to them as. It wasn't that Luke didn't want to be happy, or want others to be happy. He just always felt like he was on the outside of it, left somewhere behind. Everyone else went on being happy without him, making no effort to include him. To the town he was still grumpy boy Butch Danes that had lost both his parents. Time didn't change in Stars Hollow. So happiness just continued on without him, and he hid behind the diner doors, clinging to routine. That is until one day a very bosterous Lorelai Gilmore came waltzing in for coffee. Everything about Lorelai screamed happiness, innocence and simplicity. He never understood why, since she got pregnant at 16, but she just seemed to remind him of those things. Her chocolate brown hair always bounced and curled as if her joy electrified it. Her crystal blue eyes always had a certain sparkle behind them. As if she held the secret to life, some secret happiness and joy. Luke linked Lorelai's eyes and the Mona Lisa's smile as one in the same. Joy just radiated off of Lorelai. And Luke found himself getting caught up in it. Luke was not excluded from Lorelai's joy. she was the one person in town that tried to help him find the happy in life. She'd drag him to festivals, picnic basket biddings, all of Rory's birthdays. Her joy seemed determined to attatch itself to Luke. And it had succeeded. He hadn't always loved her. She used to be just another townsperson, and a highly annoying one at that. But somewhere between, "Hey Duke!", and now he had fallen in love with that brown hair, blue-eyed coffee addict.  
As Luke dragged his feet out of bed and towards the mirror on his dresser he had thought about Lorelai's ultimatum last night. She was being crazy, unsympathetic, and impatient. Maybe this town was starting to wear off on her afterall. He'd always thought she was better than this. She was a mom, she knew the responsibility that came with having a kid. You had to put them before yourself, their happiness in front of yours. And he was just getting to know April. He just needed time. Why couldn't she just give him that one little thing? He wasn't calling it off. He wanted to marry Lorelai. But none of that mattered, she had been more than clear; it was over. over. It seemed so final, so sudden. Cold. Unfriendly. None of those things were words he attatched with Lorelai. But that's what over was. After all this time, Luke had lost Lorelai. It really seemed to be for good this time too. He instinctively reached for his wallet on the dresser and took the notorious horoscope out of it. He went to rip it in a million peices and throw it in the garbage, but something wouldn't let him. Just like the day Lorelai gave it to him, he slipped it back into his wallet. He felt he had to do it then, and he felt the same thing now. He looked in the mirror and said to himself, "What the hell did you do Luke Danes," as regret started slowly diffusing from his stomach to his heart. He was right, in Stars Hollow, time doesn't change.

**A/N 2: For some odd reason this chapter took me like 5 trys to put on the actual story, so i'm sorry for anyone who may have it on alert that recieved duplicate e-mails. I'm not very computer savy. In my personal opinion this chapter is 1000x better than chapter 1. But feel free to disagree. Love it? Hate it? I don't care, but let me know. The review button is calling your name! Thanks to everyone who does take the time to review.   
**


	3. Realizations

Rory had decided to come home because she couldn't think of anything better to do with herself. Logan had left rent on the appartment, but it seemed too empty without him there. For the first time in her life Rory felt lonely. It seemed someone was always there for her to be around. But now Logan was half-way across the ocean, but he might as well be on Pluto. And her mom was being so strange lately, Distant. Rory wondered if her mother had still not completely forgiven her for their months of silence and her yacht theft. She had thought they were over that, but lately her mom just wasn't herself. And being Lorelai she wouldn't let on to anything. But Rory could tell. She knew her well enough to know not everything was okay. But still, being with a distant mother was better than being in the huge, now desolate, apartment without Logan. She couldn't even deal with Colin, Finn, or Steph, right now. She needed to go home. So she packed up some stuff and went home, not really quite sure for how long. 

Exaustion was starting to seap into Rory's system. She hadn't slept much the night before. It was hard to go from sleeping with a warm body next to you, to being all alone in a king sized bed. Rory never adjusted to change well. She decided to stop in a give Luke a visit and get some coffee before going home. She missed Luke's coffee. No one else's coffee could even come close. Plus, she actually missed Luke. He really had become like a father to her. Hell, soon he was going to be her step-dad. She admired Luke more than she let on to. Sometimes she found herself wishing that Logan had a bit more Luke in him. April was a pretty lucky girl to have a dad that would put her before himself. Christopher had never done that for her. For the thousandth time in Rory's life, she thought about how her life would have been different if Luke was her father. She had never told anyone that she would think like that, but she did. She figured it was probably natural since Luke had such a big role in her life. She was a bit jealous of April really. But she seemed to be a nice girl, from the one time Rory had met her.

Rory pulled into Lukes, just as she saw Luke himself tapeing a "gone fishing" sign on the window. Rory quickly jumped out of the car hoping to catch Luke before he left. Rory yelled, "Hey Luke hold up"! For a split second she thought she noticed a glimpse of pain cross his face before it turned to a smile. She was sure she had just imagined it.

"Going fishing huh Luke? Do you think I could just get some coffee before you go? Would I be holding you up too much, I just really miss your coffee"

Luke looked puzzled for a second before he responded, "Sure come on in, I have a bit of the pot left over anyway. Someone needs to drink it, otherwise it's just going to waste. That stuff will kill you someday though, Rory"

"Thanks. I'll just get it to go so I'm not bothering you too much"

"You're never a bother to me. Please sit down, and drink your coffee. I'm in no hurry. I've still got some last minute cleaning before I leave anyway"

Rory couldn't place it but there was something different about Luke. Conversation seemed forced. Which was weird that she thought that since Luke was never chatty, but it was different now. She had no way of knowing that Luke was trying to judge whether or not Rory had talked to Lorelai yet. He was starting to figure she hadn't. He doubted she'd be here right now if she knew. She'd be at home with Lorelai, like she should be now. Lorelai needed her, and yet here Luke was trying to convince Rory to stay. He was welcoming the chance to try and tell her how much he cared about her before she wouldn't talk to him. He really did love her too. He'd never told her that, but he did. He hadn't realized before this minute that he hadn't only lost Lorelai, but Rory too. And as crazy as it was, that hurt just as much.

"Luke, what's up? You're acting different"

"Different, I have no idea why"

"Bullshit.

The swearing took Luke by surprize and shocked him into admitting. "I don't know what's going on between me and your mom. I think it may be over"

Rory went into total shock mode. Her mom loved Luke. She had for quite a while. And why hadn't her mother told her. Was their best friend vibe finally failing? And why would her and Luke be breaking it off? They were as perfect for each other as people came. If Luke and her mom couldn't make it, could anyone? Could they really be over? Rory couldn't even wrap her mind around the idea. Couldn't find any logic to support it. But she was sorry. She loved them both. It was kind of like hearing your parents were getting divorced, she thought. Only, they weren't even going to get married in the first place. Is that even possible? Luke and Lorelai belonged together. "Really? Oh my gosh Luke, I'm so sorry. Really, I am. I'm sorry, you just completely threw me for a loop. I don't even know what to say. I should be home. Mom. She needs me. Thanks for the coffee Luke. I've got to go"

"Rory, wait. I know your mom needs you, just hear me out first. I didn't mean to hurt either of you. This was not the way things were supposed to turn out. I don't want to lose either of you. I know it's a package deal, but please, don't become a stranger"

Rory was surprized by how much this was affecting her. Sure, she knew that Luke was special to her, but she never realized the extent to which he was. She found her eyes tearing up. She really felt like she was losing him. Her mom must be falling apart right now. If this was affecting her like this, her mom must want to die. No wonder there had been such distance. "Luke, I'm not going anywhere." Rory found herself walking up to Luke and placing her arms around his side. Ironically, it wasn't akward this time. Completely heartbreaking, but natural. Luke rubbed his hand up and down her back and Rory felt tears run down her face. "Luke I'm so sorry." Rory unwrapped herself from Luke's arms.

"I've got to get home. Mom needs me"

Luke nodded his head. "Take her some coffee." Luke handed her a to go cup and watched Rory walk out of his life. He was sure she was being genuine when she said she wasn't going anywhere, but even still it wouldn't be the same. Seeing Rory would be bittersweet from now on. She was always going to remind him of what could've been his. He could've had it all. He had lost his Gilmores.

Rory stopped at Taylor's before going home to stock up on ice cream, and other wallowing items. She wasn't sure how much it would help. Food couldn't replace Luke. Rory was completely sure that nothing could. She walked into her house to find her mom curled in a ball in the bathroom just sobbing. One look at her mother and Rory's heart broke all over again. It almost made her hate Luke. But she knew. He didn't want this anymore than her mother did. When Lorelai finally saw Rory standing there, all she did was mutter one, shaky-heartbreaking sentence. "I slept with Chris."

**A/N: It will get happy I promise. But on a better note, this chapter almost doubles the size of the whole story. Almost, I tried. I was on a time crunch. Review please!**


	4. Confessions

"I slept with Chris." Rory was sure she'd wake up any minute now. This was just too out there. Not that her mom hadn't slept with Chris before or anything, Rory was proof of that. But her mom had moved on. Finally. It was a long time coming, but she had. Rory's world wasn't supposed to turn upside down in one day. She wasn't supposed to lose Logan, Luke, and her mom in the same day. Some might argue that she hadn't lost her mother, but she knew she had. Her mom wouldn't be the same without Luke beside her. How could she? In the back of her mind, she knew this was real though. The clowdy, unfocused feeling of a dream was absent. Everything was just to clear. To straight forward. Rory set the coffee down on the sink, and it was soon forgotten about. She climbed in the tub to join her mother. "Mom, what happened?" 

Lorelai didn't even know where to begin. Normally she jumped into everything head first and thought later. But now, she didn't even know where to jump. How do you explain to your innocent daughter that sometimes things that seem like sure things fall through. How could she make her daughter understand. "Nothing. That's exactly what happened. Nothing was changing, nothing was planned. Nothing happened."

Lorelai was impatient. Rory knew this for a long time. What Lorelai wanted, she usually found someway to get. That was one of the things Rory admired most about her mom. Lorelai seemed ready to handle anything. Rory felt like she couldn't handle anything. Mitchum was a clear example. When things got hard, she quit. But not her mom. Her mom was driven and determined when it came to getting what she wanted. And if her mom wanted anything at all in her whole life, it was Luke. "It would've happened mom. Luke loves you. He always has. He just needed sometime to get his life back together. He doesn't adjust to change like you do. And this is pretty big change. A daughter and a wife. This isn't over mom, you can't give up on him."

Lorelai didn't expect Rory to understand. No one but herself and Luke had the capability. Rory had an optomistic view of life and love. And she should, but it made it impossible to understand. Lorelai had waited long enough. And it wasn't going to happen. He and Luke were just slowly being ripped apart, and Lorelai couldn't stand it. It was like a bandaid. The longer it's dragged out, the worse it is. You just had to rip. One fast, steady pull. And that's what she did. "I'm just tired Rory. I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of looking at my wedding dress every morning and every night. I'm tired of hoping Luke will let me in. I'm tired of pretending I don't care. I'm tired of not knowing April. I'm tired."

"Mom why didn't you talk to me about any of this? I could've talked to you. You're upset, you're being irrational. You love Luke. I've never seen you love anyone before. I thought you loved dad, I even thought you loved Max. But you proved me wrong the day you told me you thought you were dating Luke. I knew then, you hadn't ever loved any man before. You and Luke were meant to be together. I know it. This town knows it. You can't just give up! You can't!"

"Rory, hunny, I did talk to someone. I talked to a psycologist. She helped me understand that some things just don't work. No matter how much they were meant to be. I have to do what I need to do. I've been waiting for my whole picture since you were born. I'm tired of waiting. And I'm not strong enough to stick around and wait for Luke. It's too hard. I don't have the strength. I'm all out of strength."

"BULLSHIT! You've never run out of strength. You are the strongest person I know. You never give up on anything. You told me not to listen to Mitchum and I'm telling you not to listen to this doctor. She doesn't know you. She doesn't know Luke. She doesn't know how much you love each other, how perfect you two are. He needs you mom. And you know what else, you need him. I know that's not easy for you to hear. You hate to need anyone. Is that why you broke it off? You are too scared to admit that you might actually need something you can't provide for yourself. Stop being miss independent! You love and need Luke, don't give up on this!" Rory knew after her rant she was partially off base. Her mom wasn't scared of needing Luke. She was scared of not getting what she needed, scared of getting her heart broken more than it already was. Staying with Luke was like pulling off the tissue on her heart, one piece at a time. But Rory wasn't prepared to admit to herself that her hero might not be strong enough to deal with something. She wasn't prepared to deal with her mom showing weakness. That was where the anger was coming from. Her own fear. However, she was right about not listening to the doctor. Lorelai couldn't give up. She just couldn't.

Lorelai felt anger push through her skin. "Rory, I SLEPT WITH CHRIS. What don't you understand about that! Luke's not going to take me back. That was the ultimate betrayal. Somethings just don't work. Period. And this is one of them. No, I'm not pleased with that, but it's the truth. Whose side are you on anyway!"

Rory knew she had gone a bit too far. Her mom was hurting. And it was her job to help. But this was Rory's way of helping. The only way that would help. Because only Luke would take away the pain. "I'm always on your side. I'm always behind you. But I know that Luke still loves you." Rory went over to the sink and picked up the to go cup. "If nothing else proves it this does. He told me to give this to you."

Lorelai felt her heart break all over again. She knew Rory was just trying to help, to make her feel better. But Lorelai didn't want to feel better. She wanted to feel hurt. She deserved to feel hurt. Because she had betrayed Luke. She didn't deserve Lukes care, or coffee. or love. Lorelai began to tell Rory the whole story of her ultimatum and events leading up to it. There was no other way to make her understand.

Rory listened to her mother's confession. It wasn't actually all that often that Rory got glimpses into her mother's heart. And today she wasn't sure she wanted to. It hurt Rory too. But her mom needed to tell her, so Rory listened. And then she tucked Lorelai into bed, and left the house. She had a few trips she had to make. She decided that she might take up Logan on his offer of the car.

Rory got out of the car after a semi-long ride. She knew she had to do this. If for no one else, herself. Rory had to get it out of her system, and she couldn't to her mom. Because Rory had finally come to terms with weakness in her mother. She couldn't deal with this. So Rory would find someone else to. She took a deep breath before knocking on the door. This was going to be a long night, considering this was only the first of two stops she had to make tonight. And neither one was going to accept her with open arms.

**A/N: So where is she headed? I'm pretty sure that one stop is pretty guessable. But I'm pretty sure I'll shock you all with the second. Well maybe not all of you. But I would be very impressed if anyone did figure it out. Anyway, thanks for all the wonderful reviews once again. I'm am truly enjoying writing this story. Sorry about the lack of happy so far. Please hang in there. It is not an easy fix, unless I were to make the whole Chris thing a dream. But I want more of a challenge. So hang in there. And review, because I check for knew reviews like every 30 mins after posting a chapter and its a little disapointing to not find any new ones. I don't even care if it's a flame. At least I know someone is reading. Although, I prefer good reviews. Who wouldn't? And now I'm ranting. So I'm going to stop. But thank you again to everyone who does take the minute out of their day to review. **


	5. Tears

Chris heard the knocking on the door and was confused as who it would be this time of night. It wasn't that late, but Christopher didn't get that many visitors anyway. He opened the door to find his daughter standing there. She looked as if she was going to kill him. And he knew why. 

"I TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY. I told you to leave mom alone! She was happy! She was getting married! Why couldn't you just let things be?"

Chris listened to Rory yell and his heart broke. This was his daughter. His daughter was yelling at him for hooking up with her mother. Wasn't your kid supposed to dream of her parents getting together? Wasn't she supposed to be cheering for Chris? Not some Luke character. "Rory, she came here. She came here and was upset. And I love her."

Rory fumed with anger in her whole body. Her father knew nothing of love. He just didn't know what it was. He claimed to love her and her mother all the time. And yet, he was never there. You were there for the ones you love, that's just standard procedure. That's why Rory loved Luke, he never left. He was solid. "If you had even an ounce of love for either of us, you wouldn't have taken advantage of her while she was so emotional. Look, I don't want to hear your excuses. I just came by to tell you to expect a check from me. I don't need you to pay for Yale anymore."

That cut deep for Chris. Rory had known it would. Afterall, your parents were suppose to pay for your school. By not accecpting Chris' money, she was not accepting him as a father. And that's what she meant. Rory was sick of having him hurt them. She went back to her car. She had one more stop to make tonight.

* * *

He had literally walked into his apartment only five minutes before he heard the knock on his door. He half-heartly went to the door to let in whoever it was that decided to pay him a visit so late. Or early really. He should be accustomed to the lack of sleep by now, but his new-found responsibility had come at the expense of his sleep. He caught drifts here and there when he could. And that's what he had been coming home to do before someone had made his attempts futile by knocking on the door. He eventually opened the door to find the one person he couldn't handle seeing right now, Rory Gilmore. He slammed the door almost immediately upon having opened it. He didn't mean to slam it. That just seemed cold and unfriendly. So vindicative. And he didn't want to be vindicative, despite how their last meeting had gone. He didn't deserve to feel vindicative after all he had done to her. Afterall, she had changed his life. But still, he couldn't help but feel anger. The irony sickened him; the one person he loved and felt the most connected to in the world was the same person he hated most. Rory just wasn't the same person she once was. She was weaker, less determined. She was content with just existing. He wasn't sure that any of these judgements were exactly fair, but then again, when was life? Rory had fallen in love with the things that she had once despised and he hated her for it. So, he slammed the door in her face.

Rory wasn't surprized when the door slammed in her face. She wasn't sure she deserved it, but she wasn't surprized. "Jess Mariano, open that door!" Still nothing. Well that is just fine, Rory thought. She knew Jess well enough that if she pushed hard enough, he would eventually open the door. "Jess this isn't for me! IF you care about Luke at all you'll open the door! Open up you stubborn son-of-a..."

"RELAX!" Jess yelled as opening the door. Luke's name had sent a certain fear into Jess' nerve. He knew then that he had to open the door. Rory quickly shuffled in past him, almost like she was afraid he'd change his mind. For a split second Jess figured he'd made a mistake-that Rory had just thrown Luke's name out there as bait. She was the only person who knew how to strike a nerve with Jess consistantly. Luke every once in a while could hit soemthing home to Jess, but everytime Rory was up to bat it was a homerun. and he hated her for it-her ability to play him.

Now that Rory was in the apartment she didn't quite no what to say. Even now Jess had a way of making her feel nervous. She sat down on his couch. She heard Jess spit out, "You mentioned LUke." That surprized Rory. She knew Jess cared about Luke. She knew he still did. But she didn't know he was so open about it. "Him and my mom split up."

Jess had a pretty good idea of where Rory was going with this now. And he felt bad for Luke, he really did. Sometimes you just had your heart broken by the person you were meant to be with. "Oh, I guess sometimes people turnout to be different than they once were."

Rory knew Jess well enough to know that the jab was directed towards her. Jess had always been a bit passive agressive. Still, she wasn't going to take no for an answer. "LUke and my mom are meant to be together. You know that. Just remind Luke. Just talk to him."

"Then why aren't they together anymore?" Jess spat out. He anger towards Rory was quickly rising. He just wanted her out of his life and here she was waltzing back in making rediculous demands. He heard her croak out, "Sometimes other things just get in the way. Please, talk to Luke." Jess could hear the tears behind her voice. Jess knew she had stopped talking about Luke and Lorelai and started talking about them. He had always hated it when she cried. Still he wanted his dealings in Stars Hollow to end more than he wanted her to be happy. "You chose Logan, Rory! THAT WAS YOUR CHOICE! You don't get to come in here and make demands to me! I'm done with Stars Hollow, Rory. Done. I'm not playing some cute parent-trap game. I live here now where shit happens just because. And you let it, because you don't have any other choice."

"YOU DO HAVE A CHOICE, JESS MARIANO! You can be stubborn and pretend to be indifferent or you could care. And after all Luke has done for you, you darn well should care! Care, Jess, Care."

There it was again-that nerve thing. She could play him like a dice. "Fine! But this is not for you. This is for Luke. Because I do owe him. I'm not doing this for you, Rory. As far as I'm concerned you still don't deserve my time. You can't play with people. You're not a teenager like I was. You should know that. You're not the girl I once loved, Rory Gilmore. I don't owe you anything." Jess heard her mutter a quick thank you and watched her walk out the door. He felt a single tear escape his eye. What he had said was only half truth. He did owe her something, she had changed his life. Inspired him to be something more, but that had been the old Rory. And he had seen a glimmer of that old Rory Gilmore today. The one who would do anything for those she loved. The stubborn, determined Rory that would do anything for those she loved. And it hurt him to know that she would go back to Logan and become spoiled brat Rory. What he said had only been half-truth. The whole truth was that he missed the real her and didn't want to owe her anything.

* * *

Everyone cries differently and for different reasons. For Chris, it was over a daughter who now seemingly hated him, and had disowned him. For Jess, it was simply a singe tear over the desire to allowing himself to let go of the old Rory. For Lorelai, it was a loud steady stream of tears over regret and lost love. For Luke, it was silent bursts over finding an engagement ring outside his door with a posted note saying, "I slept with Chris. I'm sorry." But for Rory it was the most surprizing of all. For her it was silent sobbing on the corner of the elevator floor for reasons she didn't even completely udnerstand. Afterall, everyone cries if pushed hard enough.

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and reading. This didn't exactly go according to plan between Rory and Jess, but well, I like it.


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